REI blames – REI faced a wave of online backlash after users said an Instagram ad showed a visibly altered, AI-generated bike image. The retailer later said Meta auto-enrolled it into an AI personalization tool that changed a vendor-provided image inaccurately, and it move
By Monday, June 22, REI had already spent a full week on Instagram with an ad that commenters described as suspicious and cheaply manufactured.
The trouble started when social media users noticed the image looked wrong: a woman standing by a bicycle in a park. but with obvious glitches—an abnormal number of bike chains. text that was illegible on the bike. and an extra set of handlebars growing out of the saddle. By the time the post was taken down on Monday. the comment section had become a running indictment. and the criticism spilled over into Reddit. where the backlash was both mocking and pointed.
Many users claimed the ad showed “AI slop. ” arguing that REI had actual photography available and still appeared to rely on generative image changes. Others suggested the alterations were disrespectful not only to REI’s audience but also to the bike brand involved in the underlying imagery. While REI’s Instagram post was deleted on June 22, the debate had already become hard to unsee.
In an explanation shared to Fast Company. an REI spokesperson said the problem wasn’t a deliberate choice to use AI in the ad. REI blamed being auto-enrolled by Meta into an AI personalization tool that produced “an inaccurate and inappropriate alteration of a vendor-provided image in some of our ads.”.
“Meta auto-enrolled us in an AI personalization tool that produced an inaccurate and inappropriate alteration of a vendor-provided image in some of our ads,” the statement read.
REI added that while the resulting alteration might seem interesting on its own—“a two-handled bike”—it was not something customers would find in its assortment. The retailer said it has taken steps to unenroll from the tool, and it tied the incident directly to brand principles.
“We have taken steps to unenroll from the tool. This does not align with our values or how we manage our brand. Product accuracy and our vendor relationships matter. We apologize for the confusion this caused,” REI said.
The story picked up another layer when fitness model Amity Rockwell reportedly posted to her Instagram story that she was the woman in the ad—or that the image was generated based on her likeness. Rockwell said she had completed a photo shoot with bike brand Van Rysel months earlier for REI advertising. and that she was tagged in the viral image.
“The thing is, this was an official shoot. That I got hired for,” Rockwell wrote. “So why are they Al deep frying the images? To alter a product they’re supposedly selling? And my face along with it? lol. I’m so lost.”
For many commenters, that detail only sharpened the critique: if REI had legitimate imagery from a real shoot, the idea that an automated AI tool could still “alter” it felt like a betrayal of the work already done.
On REI’s subreddit, a post titled “REI using AI slop now. So much for caring about the environment,” drew nearly 800 upvotes. Commenters traded jokes about what they thought the altered bike implied—one user wrote. “The extra handlebar coming out of the seat is pure genius!!” and another described the saddle-mounted drop bars as something that would require “AI myself.” Another commenter said the company “is absolutely obsessed with AI now. ” adding that “employee training has been getting more and more AI based for at least a year. ” including “specific AI trainings” that are “always ‘updating’ us on how they’re planning to use AI going forward.”.
Not every comment landed on conspiracy. One user argued more simply: “This is straight silly. It’s an ad for a bike and the bike isn’t in the picture.” Another suggested there was no need for automation at all. writing: “I don’t understand it when I see AI used to make something that would’ve literally taken them 5 minutes to do. Just take a picture of a girl screwing with her helmet step next to the bike. was the AI really needed?”.
Some criticism also aimed at Van Rysel. though how directly involved the bike brand was in the altered ad was unclear. “On top of the obvious environmental impacts, this is so insulting to the bike brand,” one commenter wrote. “GROSS!” Van Rysel has not responded to Fast Company’s request for comment.
That rejection of the incident is inseparable from REI’s public identity. The company’s environmentalism is a core part of its brand. and its 2025 impact report says REI is “on a journey to ensure the outdoors remains a place we can all enjoy for generations to come. ” pointing to steps like textile recycling. lobbying to maintain public land. and a commitment to cutting down greenhouse gas emissions.
On Instagram, commenters made the hypocrisy sting. One wrote. “I love when ads align with your mission. ” using the line as sarcasm after accusing the ad of using generative AI. The criticism landed in the broader political and cultural fault line around artificial intelligence and the environment—where many Americans view them as incompatible.
Recent polling from Pew Research Center found that 39% of U.S. adults believe data centers have a negative environmental impact, compared with just 4% who believe they have a positive environmental impact.
For commenters trying to reconcile REI’s mission with the ad’s alleged AI alterations, the concern is not abstract. “With how damaging AI is to the environment. it’s super sad to see REI using it. ” one Reddit user wrote. “I mean, is it really that cost prohibitive to take a picture of a real person on a bicycle?. I would’ve done it for free.”.
REI’s explanation—pinning the mistake on Meta’s auto-enrollment into an AI personalization tool—now sits in the middle of the dispute. The company says it has already taken steps to unenroll and apologized for the confusion. But the damage is already public: an outdoor retailer defined by its environmental stance has become. for a moment. the center of a debate about whether the tools of modern marketing can be trusted—especially when the outdoors is the promise.
REI Meta AI personalization tool Instagram ad backlash generative AI environmentalism Amity Rockwell Van Rysel vendor-provided image data centers Pew Research Center
So basically REI got fooled by Meta or whatever.
I saw the ad and yeah it looked janky as hell. Like why does it matter if it was Meta auto-enrollin stuff, REI still posted it.
Wait, I thought AI bikes were supposed to look better, not like the handlebars are sprouting out. This is the kind of thing that makes me not trust any of it. Also “extra set of handlebars”?? isn’t that just like editing gone wrong?
Meta did it, REI says Meta did it… okay but why was it on Instagram for a whole week though? Like they had to approve something right? People keep saying “AI slop” but I swear half the comments didn’t even read the part about vendor-provided image like, everybody just reacts to the glitchy picture and moves on.